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Patriots Sunday supplement 8/23

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Photo – @MikeDussault19

Yesterday the Patriots were given the day off following a week of practices back in pads. This morning, the team will be back on the training field as we enter the three-week countdown to kickoff against Miami.

Plenty of news to cover from the past week, so let’s get our Sunday check-in from training camp.

Camp News

Over the past week, there have been some great moments for fans to take notice of ahead of the new season. Most notably, S Kyle Dugger has stood out as one of the top players on the practice field, made some big plays, and has been involved in special team drills. Still early in his development jump from Div II Lenoir–Rhyne, but an exciting beginning for the rookie.

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What’s going on with Jarrett Stidham?

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Patriots 2020 training camp: 7 takeaways from 3rd padded practice
Image: AP

Jarrett Stidam is in the midst of a quarterback competition with Cam Newton and Brian Hoyer, but today the competition took an unexpected twist.

Yesterday at practice, the Patriots quarterbacks continued to distribute the reps equally. Cam Newton was 10-17 and Brian Hoyer was 7-16 with an interception. However, Jarrett Stidham only attempted six passes, only completing two of them, as well as throwing two interceptions. But, not much was made about Stidham’s lack of pass-attempts, until this morning.

This morning, Fitzy of the Greg Hill Show on WEEI was the first to report that Jarrett Stidham was hurt and may be out for the “foreseeable future.”

The report initially did not lead to much panic or lead to much of a stir among other media members. At the time, this was the only report about Stidham. But, the real indication whether the report was credible or not would be if Stidham showed up to practice or not.

Then about three hours after Fitzy’s report, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network confirmed that Jarrett Stidham was dealing with an injury. Rapoport reported that Stidham was dealing with a leg injury, and the Patriots would proceed cautiously.

Sure enough, despite these two reports, Jarrett Stidham trotted out for practice today with a big grin on his face. However, despite being at practice, Stidham did not take any throwing reps, and sat out some portions of the team stretches. It was obvious, that something was going on with Stidham. His health was in question, but he still participated in a limited basis at practice. So, the question became, how bad was Stidham’s injury?

NFL Network’s Mike Giardi then reported that it actually was not Stidham’s leg, it was his hip. Giardi also reported that Stidham would not be at 100% health for, “several weeks.”

Then to make matters worse for Stidham, the Boston Globe’s Jim McBride reported that Stidham was even at Mass. General Hospital on Thursday.

Despite Stidham’s apparent injury, and trip to the hospital, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said that Stidham would be “ready to roll,” come practice on Sunday.

Today featured a whirlwind of reports regarding Stidham’s health. But, however you want to slice it, the 24-year-old Stidham is dealing with some sort of injury. Whether that’s his hip or his leg, something is not right.

As Stidham battles with whatever injury he has, Cam Newton and Brian Hoyer may now have the upper-hand as the season opener is approaching three weeks away. If Stidham is not 100%, then his chances of winning the job are slim. But, if Stidham’s injury was more a scare than anything else, he’ll still firmly be in the mix to win the quarterback battle.

The health of Jarrett Stidham should be something to monitor as training camp progresses.

Tweets of Note: 2020 Camp -#5 8/21

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The week has flown by and Friday’s practice has now been and gone. A lighter session today in just shells and helmets, probably a good thing given how big the absent list has grown over the last few days.

Here’s today’s Tweets of Note.

Now, this wasn’t something I was expecting, Stidham looks to have avoided a serious leg injury following a visit to the hospital yesterday. He was at practice but only participated in a few drills with the majority of reps going to Cam Newton and Brian Hoyer.

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Should the Patriots be in on Jadeveon Clowney?

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Should the Jets actually make a run at signing Jadeveon Clowney ...
Image: AP

Training camp may be underway, but should Bill Belichick and the Patriots be looking to upgrade their pass-rush?

Three-time pro-bowler Jadeveon Clowney has still yet to find a home, and is the highest profile free agent remaining on the market. The Patriots pass-rush took a hit this offseason as they lost their two leading sack leaders from 2019 in Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy. Even with Collins and Van Noy last season, the Patriots still ranked only 12th in the NFL in sacks per game. Now with the loss for those two, the Patriots immediately project to finish in the bottom third of the league in sacks. But, if Clowney was to enter the picture, everything changes.

First off, if Clowney and Belichick were to unite, Clowney would likely have to swallow one-year contact that would likely be under market value and would likely be tied to a plethora of incentives. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Clowney already rejected an offer from the Seahawks that was worth $15 million for one-year. Bill Belichick certainly won’t break the bank for Clowney, but from a football standpoint, it’s tough to resist. This could be similar to when the Patriots inked Darrelle Revis in 2014.

The front-seven of the Patriots’ defense is certainly the weakest part of their defense, and it really isn’t up for debate. Losing Jamie Collins, Kyle Van Noy, and Danny Shelton in free agency was already a big enough loss in itself. But, then losing their anchor Dont’a Hightower for the season was a huge blow to the Patriots’ defense. Their front-seven will look lightyears different in 2020. As currently constructed, the Patriots would have to rely on John Simon, Lawrence Guy, Adam Butler, and Chase Winovich to provide a constant spark.

That’s a lot to ask for, for that particular group of players. Jadeveon Clowney would instantly be an upgrade, and would instantly have the chance to flourish with the Patriots. Clowney even has a connection with Bill Belichick. Clowney played under defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, who was under Bill Belichick in New England, and has had a relationship with Belichick since their days with the New York Giants.

Clowney is coming off of a season in which he only recorded three sacks, bringing his career total to 32. Clowney struggled in his one and only season in Seattle, and never was able to get into a rhythm. This is part of the reason why he still remains unsigned to this point. After all the hype surrounded Clowney when he was the first-overall pick of the 2014 draft, it’s fair to say that Clowney has underachieved to this point in his career. If Clowney wants to take his career to new heights, teaming up with Bill Belichick would be the best path to stardom.

Bill Belichick has had some gifted pass-rushers come through his system over the year. Most recently Chandler Jones and Trey Flowers, who both left the Patriots and cashed in. The path to landing a lucrative contract for Clowney might start with a quick stop in Foxboro.

According to spotrac, the Patriots currently have about $35 million in cap space remaining. After being pressed up against the cap for most of the offseason, the Patriots now find themselves with a plethora of remaining money. However, with these unprecedented times the cap will more than likely be lowered in 2021, so the Patriots would be wise to leave a good chunk of change for 2021.

But, if the Patriots want to offer Clowney a one-year deal that is incentive based that could be worth a total of $10 to $12 million, it would be worth wild for both parties.

The Patriots need some kind of pass-rush to go with their high flying secondary. The Patriots will likely have to rely on their defense if they want to be successful in 2020. With a new quarterback at the helm, question marks at receiver and tight end, the offense will likely be off to a rocky start.

If the price is right, the Patriots would be foolish to pass up on Clowney, and Clowney would be foolish to pass up on Bill Belichick and the Patriots.

Tweets of Note: 2020 Camp -#4 8/20

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After a lighter session yesterday, the Patriots were back in pads on the practice field. Can you believe it’s just over three weeks until the first game of the season against Miami?

Here are the Tweets of Note from the fourth media attended practice.

Many will be glad to hear that UDFA WR Jeff Thomas finally graced the practice field today for the first time. He was involved in the early drills before being limited for the remainder of the session today.

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Tweets of Note: 2020 Camp -#3 8/19

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Following two straight days in pads, the players wore shells for practice today, a sign of workload management as we hit mid-week.

I present today’s Tweets of Note along with my thoughts:

The good bit of news regarding attendance was that a limited Julian Edelman yesterday was able to fully participate today. The bad news is that the absent list has grown by two.

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Tweets of Note: 2020 Camp – Padded Practice #2

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And just like that, day two of padded practice is in the books. The weather looked good in Foxborough earlier today for the second consecutive media attended practice.

Here are today’s Tweets of Note:

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